AfriGeneas Free Persons of Color Forum

Book- Free in Chains

Hi Everyone,

I am reading abook called FREE IN CHAINS. It was written by Virginia Genealogist and lawyer Mary B.Kegley.

This book is really good. Ms. Kegley explaines a true story about an Indian woman named Rachel Findlay who was sold in to slavery. The problem is that Rachel Findlay is actually free waiting on freedom papers because her grand mother Chance was a Catawba indian woman and it was against the law for Native Americans to be held or sold as slaves in Virginia. But Rachel masters sold her off as a Negroe slave. Now she is a slave and no one believes her about her freedom status. So Rachel was actually free. The book goes into details about slavery, and It described Rachel in her slave status. How does she survive? Does she ever become free again?

This is also great book if a person wants to learn about the state/laws of Virginia during the late 18th-19th century.